^^i.^^p^ 




Class. 
Book. 



^^ 



f-jU^u 



PIONEER LIFE IN THE FOX RIVER VALLEY 



By ANNIE SUSAN MrLP^NEfJAN 



[From Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1905) 



MADISON 

Statk Historical Society ok Wisconsin 

IQO6 



PIONEER LIFE IN THE FOX RIVER VALLEY 



By ANNIE SUSAN MdiKNEUAN 



[From Proceedinsr-' 'if '''f State Historical Societr of Wisconsin. 19051 



MADISON 
Statk Historical S((Cif.ty of Wisconsin 

1906 



Settlement of Fox Valley 



Pioneer Life in the Fox River 
Valley 



By Annie Susan McLenegan 

Early French Settlers, 1745-1816 

Fox River valley — the beautiful and fertile region comprised 
in the counties of Brown, Oiitarraiuie, and Winnebago — was 
doubtless the earliest ex])lored |X)rtion of Wisconsin. The Fox 
and Wisconsin rivers, with the swainpy portage of a mile and 
a half Ix^tween, formed a natural trade route between i>ake 
Michigan and the ^lississippi. 

Up to about 1830, the history of the valley is practically the 
history of the Gi*een Bay settlement. The stors' of this out- 
IHjst of civilization, beyond the early and flitting visits of 
French missionaries, explorers, and soldiers — now familiar to 
us all — Ix^gins with a small gi'oup of French pioneers. 



iThe twelve illustrations accompanying, this paper are i)rint«(l di- 
rectly from engravinRs on wood made for and originally appearing in 
Martin Mitchel and Joseph H. Osborn's Geographical and statistical 
History of the County of ^Vinnebago (Oshkosh, 1856; 12 mo., pp. 120), 
now a very rare pamphlet. In 188<! Mr. Osborn presented the engraved 
blocks to the library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and these 
are now utilized for the fir.^t time since the original publication fifty 
years ago. The cuts, which are admirable examples of the now seldom- 
practiced art of wood engraving, closely follow the daguerreotypes 
taken therefor in 1855 by J. F. Harrison: Mr. 0.=born considered them 
faithful presentations. — Ed. 

18 [ 2G5 ] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

Augustin de Langlade and his son Oliarles, by an Ottawa 
wife, came to Green Bay in 1745 to engage in trade with the 
Indians, and proved to be the first pennanent white settlers 
within the present limits of Wisconsin.^ Charles de Lang- 
lad6 led the Indians of the upper lakes who assailed Braddock 
on the fateful ninth of July, 1755 ; he died at Green Bay in 
1800. His wife was Charlotte Bourassa, daughter of a promi- 
nent Montreal merchant; and their daughter Doonitelle was 
united to Pieri'e Grigiion, Sr., when she was thirteen years old, 
and became the niotlier of the famous Augustin Grignon. He 
in turn married iSTancy McCrea, the daughter of a trader and a 
Menominee woman, who wag related to the well-known chiefs 
Tomah and Oshkosh.' 

From 1745 to 1785 the Green Bay settlement was almost 
stationary. In the latter year there were seven resident fami- 
lies, who with the fur-trade engages and others numbea*ed but 
fifty-six souls. It was, nevertheless, the largest white commun- 
ity in what is now Wisconsin ; in 1783 there were but four 
traders on the site of Prairie du Chien, and a few had a ren- 
^dezvous in 1793 at Milwaukee. In the latter year, only one 
Frenchman, Laurent Bartli, was at the Fox-Wisconsin portage. 

At that time there was in Green Bay, says Augustin Grignon 
in his ''Recollections," ''my father, Pierre Grignon, Sr.," who 
"was born in Montreal, and early engaged as a voyageur with 
tradei*s in the Lake Superior country. Having saved his 
wages, he after a while engaged as a trader on his own 
account and located at Green Bay prior to 1763. He had 
served on some expeditions, probably during the old French 
War. * * * gy jiis first wife, a Menominee woman, he 
had three children. * * * By his marriage with my 
mother, he raised nine children and died in November, 



iThe following material is taken from Augustin Grignon's "Recollec- 
tions," in Wis. Hist. Colls., iii. 

2 See R. G. Thwaites, "Oshkosh, the last of the Menominee sachems," 
in Oahkosh Times, April 22, 1876. 

[266] 



o 

3 

-I 
o 



GO 

cn 




Wisconsin Historical Society 

the chimney of Jean Ducharme's trading house now remains; 
he was a native of La Chine, Canada, his sons being Joseph, 
Dominic, and PauL 

Judge Charles Eeaunie came from near Montreal to Green 
Bay before 1800, and at once became an imjwrtant person in. 
the connnunity. His wife was a Miss SangTienette, daughter 
of a Montreal mlerchant. Deserting her, he wandered to 
Green Bay to trade. The future interpreter of the law was 
unsuccessful in commerce, because of a too jovial and easy- 
going disposition. In 1803 he was commissioned by Gov. 
William H. Harrison of Indiana territory as justice of the 
peace, although Grigiion states that Keaume's sense of honor 
and justice was not high. He had for some time been acting 
under a similar commission from the Euglish government, and 
held court under either as he saw fit, his jurisdiction appear- 
ing to extend all the way from Mackinac and the upper Mis- 
sissippi to Vincennes and Kaskaskia on tlie south. Being 
able to read and write he was one of the few persons then liv- 
ing west of Lake Michigan qualified for ofiice; l>ut his knowl- 
edge of English law was slight — what he did know probably 
was the old coutume de Pcuris — and his "decisions" were often 
influenced by a friendly glass, or reversed on demand. Many 
very amusing incidents of his career are given in the early 
volumes of the ^yisconsin Historical Collections. "Judge 
Reaume," says Grignon, "was rather tall, and quite portly, 
with a dark eye, and with a very animated, changeable coun- 
tenance. Like the Indians, his loves and his hates were very 
strong, particularly the hates. He was probably never known 
to refuse a friendly draught of wine, * * * and he was 
in truth very kind and hospitable. With all his eccentricities, 
he was wanuly beloved by all who knew him." In 1818, Gov- 
ernor Cass appointed him associate justice of Bro\\m County, 
and he died four years later in Green Bay. 

The first saiw mlill in Bro^vn County was built for Jacob 
Pranks at De Pere in 1809, "by an American named Bradley." 

[268 ] 



Settlement of Fox Valley 

In 1816 there vnxR a govcmnient. saw-mill for the Indians, at 
Little Kankanlin, hnt fnr-trading was still the principal oc- 
cupation of the valley. The Indians still maintained trade 
relations Anth the English, who had a post on Dnimmond's 
Island, near Sanlt Ste. :\Iaric.' Jean Dnehanne's trading i>0r,t 
was at Kaukanna, and there lived Ang\istin Grignon who took 
toll at the porta^. The only school short of C-anada was at 
Mackinac, and the only physician in the region lived on that 
island. There Avere no missionaries in Green Bay from 1745 
until 1820. In 1784-85, Pierre Grignon took his children to 
Mackinac to be baptized. 

Bv 1812, there were 252 people in Green Bay, two trading 
stores, three blacksmiths, a tailor, and a carpenter — Augustin 
Tliil)ean, wlu. came from Quebec in 1800. Tliere were an 
alnmdanco of horses, cattle, hogs, and fowls. On the little river- 
side farms of the worn-out voyageurs were raised enijugh vege- 
tables for the settlement Articles of export and trade w^re 
furs, peltries, deer-tallow, potatoes, cattle, and sugar. Only 
enough wheat wa-s raised to make bread. Mme. ^Vmable Roy 
possessed the only apple-tree in Green Bay ; but after 1816 an 
American brought a good supply from Detrr^it, and ])lnms and 
cheiTies came a little later. 

One highly pictures<pie and illustrative incident in this early 
Wisconsin life was the expedition, during the War of 1812-15, 
by Col. Robert Dickson and Maj. William McKay, to capture 
the American ]X)st at Prairie du riiien.* It nmst have been 
a great day for Green Bay when, in the summer of 1814, 
McKay's force of Sioux, Wiiiix-bago, and French-Canadian 
engages arrived in a fleet of canoes and battcaux from Mack- 
inac. There they were joined by Pierre Grignon and some 
Green Bay habitaids and Indians, after the interest of tlio red 
men had been properly worked wy by speeches and the ])romise 

1 See Thwaltes. "Story of .Maikinac" in Wis. Hist. Colls., xiv, p. 13. 
a On McKay's expedition, besides Gri&non's "Recollections." see Wis. 
Hist. Colls., ix, pp. 207, 262; xl. pp. 254. 271. 

[ 269 ] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

of a good tinie, with probable loot At the Fox-Wisconsin 
portage they were met bj Dickson with a similar force, and all 
proceeded to Prairie du Chien. As this motley force ascended 
the Fox and descended the Wisconsin, starting the echoes with 
voyageur songs and '^God save the King," the sunlight gleam- 
ing on canoe blades and the brilliant uniforms of dark-faced 
men, it recalls some scene in a comic opera; indeed, it was 
about as significant, so far as results were concerned. The 
BHtish captured the post but abandoned it the next year. 

We may close this account of early French life at Grreen Bay 
by extracts from the reminiscences of Ebenezer Childs and 
Henry S. Baird: 

There Vv^as quite a number of very respectable French families re- 
siding at the Bay when I arrived there * * * all of whom are now 
[1858] dead, except Augustin Grignou. * * * They were all en- 
gaged in the Indian trade under the American Fur Company, each 
cultivating a small quantity of land. Their manners and customs were 
of the most primitive character. * * * i made the first ox-yoke 
that was ever seen at the Bay. Their principal food was wild game, 
fi.sh, and hulled corn. They caught large quantities of sturgeon and 
trout, and they made immense quantities of maple sugar. At the 
proper season in the spring, the entire settlement would remove to 
their sugar camps. i 

The character of the people was a compound of civilization and 
primitive simplicity, exhibiting the polite and lively characteristics of 
the French and the thoughtlessness and improvidence of the aborigines. 
Possessing the virtues of hospitality and the warmth of heart unknown 
to residents of cities, * * * they were ever ready to receive and 
entertain their friends, and more intent upon the enjoyment of the 
present than to lay up store and make provision for the future. 
With few wants, and contented and happy hearts, they found enjoy- 
ment in the merry dance, the sleigh-ride, and the exciting horse-race, 
and doubtless experienced more true happiness and contentment than 
the plodding, calculating, money-seeking people of the present day. 
This was the character of the settlers who occupied this country be- 
fore the arrival of the Yankees — a class now [1859] entirely extinct or 
lost sight of by the present population; but it is one which unites the 
present with the past, and for whom the "old settlers" entertain feel- 



1 Childs's 'Recollections." in Wis. Hist. Colls., iv, p. 161. 

[ 2T0 ] 



I .'s 



^ i 



oo 
en 




Settlement of Fox Valley 

ings of veneration and respect. They deserve to be remembered and 
placed on the pages of history as the first real pioneers of Wisconsin.. 

American Pioneer Settlement, 1816-50 

August 7, 1816, three American sloops laden with soldiers 
under" command of Col. John :^riller arrived at Green Bay. 
They were piloted from Mackinac, howbcit somewhat unwill- 
ingly, by Augustin Grig:non and Stanislaus Chappue of Green 
Bay. Wlien Colonel Miller went through the conciliatory 
form of asking permission of the Indians to rebuild Fort 
Howard, the red men bespoke protection for their "French 
brothei-s." Tbe garrison was put to work to make comfortable 
quarters at Fort Howard, so that soon after 1820 it assumed 
quite an imposing aspect' 

As nearly as one can judge from conflicting estimates, there 
were in 1816, about two hundred i>eoijle at Green Bay. 
Prairie du Chien (Fort Crawford), the only other settlement 
in the present state, had twenty-five or thirty houses mostly of 
French families from Illinois. Detroit was an old French vil- 
lage of bark-covered houses. Solomon Juneau had not yet 
come to Milwaukee— aldiough his precursor and father-in- 
law, Jacques Vieau, had had a trading house there since 1795.' 
The Americans were not joyfully received by the little vil- 
lage at the mouth of the Fox, but a new era was about U) begin 
for the whole region. By 1820, the i>opulation crept up to 
about ^ve hundred, in addition to the garrison. John Jacob 
Astor as representi^tive of the American Fur Company, had 
re-established (1816) headquarters at Mackinac with a branch 
at Green Bay. John I^we was Astor s repi-esentative, and 
the inhabitants of nearly the whole valley were in the employ 
of the Astor tra<lei-s. Stirring times began for Green Bay, 

iBaird in ibid., p. 205. 
2Biddle in id., i. p. 57. 
3 Wis. Hist. Colls., xi. pp. 220, 221. 

[271] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

which was soon recognized as the natural trade emporium for 
the Fox Eiiver region/ 

Prominent earlv Grre«n Bay settlers were Moses Hardwiok 
of Kentucky who came in 1816 with Colonel Miller, and 
Matthew and Robert Irwin, Sr. arriving in 1815 from Penn- 
sylvania. Matthew Imvin was Indian agent and United States 
fax3tor at the Bay. From 1820 to 1830 came Daniel Whitney 
from New Hampshire, Ebeuezer Ohilds froml Massachusetts, 
William and Joseph Dickinson and Albert G, Ellis (with the 
Oneida Indians, as a surveyor) from New York, James D. Doty 
originally from New York, Henry S. Baird from Pennsyl- 
vania, E^ H. Ellis from New York, John P. Amdt from Penn- 
sylvania, Morgan L, Martin and John V. Suydam, both from 
New York. 

The land question now became the most important issue. 
American land-gTabbing was a constant source of irritation to 
the Indians, bringing about the Black Hawk War in 1832. 
From 1804 to 1836 a series of cessions was obtained, some of 
which concerned the Fox River district. A specimen of the 
method by which some of the land claims were originally pro- 
cured is shown by the deed for what is now the site of 
Kaukauna. The local chief in 1793 ceded this land to Domi- 
nic Ducharme for two barrels of nim ; full satisfaction being 
aii'orded by live gallons extra to his heire in 1796.^ The origi- 
nal settlements at Green Bay were made on grants from 
France (before 1760) and England (1760-1796). In 1820 
the question of tliese titles came before congTCss, who sent a 
government agent to Green Bay to collect evidence of such 
claims as were held by the French settlers under Jay's treaty, 
only those occupied by 1796 being allowed. About seventy-five 
titles in Green Bay and Prairie du Chien were established by 
this act 



iThe sources used tor this period are chiefly the 'Recollections" of 
Ebenezer Childs and Henry S. Baird, the county histories of Brown, 
Winnebago, and Outagamie, and the biographies of pioneers. 

2 For a transcript of this deed see Wis. Hist. Colls., xv, p. 1. 

[ 272 ] 



Settlement of Vox \ alley 

In 1828, Col. Ebenezer Brigham and others met the Indian:* 
at Gi'oon P»ay to settle iM.nndan- dispntes, and the lea<l region 
of south\ve«^t Wisconsin and northwest niin<iis was houffht. In 
1831, the federal governmciit purchased from the ?^I(iioiiiiiic<' 
and Winnebago the land lying between Lake ^liehigan and the 
Mississippi, Fox, and Wisconsin rivers. Fnrther purchases 
were made from time to time, and in 1834 the federal land 
near Green Bay was sun-eyed and the following year a land 
office opened. "There was a great rush t^.> purchase, mostly from 
Milwaukee and Chicago."' ''In 183G, Gov. Dodge had R-eii 
commissioned by the General Government to hold a treaty with 
the Menominee Indians. The treaty was held at Cedar Rapids, 
on the Fox River; Hemy S. Baird was secretaiy. '-^ * * 
Oihkosh and all the leading Menominee chiefs were present. 
The Menominees ceded to the Govermnent some four millions 
of acres west and north of Winnebago Lake and Fox River, 
and a strip along the Wisconsin River. "" * * This ce^-sion 
gave a new impulse to the settlement of N.'orthcrn Wisconsin.''* 
"The tardiness of the Govenmient in acquiring title U^> this 
land \\as a great drawback to the settlement and improvement 
of the oountrs'. If any attempted to 'squat' uix)n the lands, 
they were forcibly removed at the point of the bayonet, or 
prosecuted by the United States officials as trespassers upon 
Indian lands. I his condition of affairs continued until 
treaties were made, and the lands sun'eye<l and bronght into 
market.''^ 

The establishment of republiciin government in tlie Fox 
River valley was the result of the effort of some of its leading 
pioneers. In 1818, all of Wisconsin was added to Michigan 
terriu>ry. By pnx'lamation of Governor Cass, Wisconsin was 
divided into Brown (the Fox River valley) and Crawford 
ooimties. The officers of Brown County were Matthew Irwin, 



iWis. Hist. Colls., jv, p. 186. 
a/bid., p. 193. 
376td.. p. 213. 

[273] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

chief justioe; Charles Beauine, Benjamin Chittenden, associ- 
ates^ Rtobert Irwin, Jr., clerk; George Johnston, sheriff. Iso 
civil order woilJij of the name existed, however, and the in- 
habitants of Green Bay ^vere subject to the whims of the mili- 
tary autocrats at Fort Howard/ The supreme court of 
Michigan met at Detroit. "The Judiciary was composed of 
County Cburts and Justices of the Peace. The 'Courts' con- 
sisted of three Judges, none of whom were lawyers. * * * 
The Justices of the Peace were such as could be selected from 
those who were capable of reading and writing. In the year 
1823, Congress passed an act establishing what was called 'the 
additional Judicial District,' comprising the counties of 
Brown, Michilimackinac, and Crawford, and the Hon. James 
Doty was appointed by President Monroe. * * * Inl824: 
things had asisumed a more orderly character. * * * But 
in the subordinate, or Justices' Cburts, many singular incidents 
transpired."'" 

JSTothing shows the spirit of tlie Green Bay pioneers better 
than iMXt public meetings held at an early date to agitate for 
internal imiprovements. The first occurred in October, 1829, 
with Louis Grignou chairman, and M. L. Martin secretary, 
and voted to petition congress for a road from Green Bay to 
Chicago and an improvement of the Fox River. The latter 
demand was brought forward at a second meeting held N^ovem- 
ber 10, 1833. In 1835 the citizens of Green Bay built a dam 
at De Pere. 

After Wisconsin territory was organized in 1836, the legis- 
lartiive representatives of the county were Henry S. Biaird, 
John P. Arndt, Ebenezer Childs, Albert G. Ellis, and Alexan- 
der Irwin. Says Childs: "The accommodations at Belmont 
were most miserable. * * * The whole of the Bro^vn dele- 
gation lodged in one room, about fifteen by twenty feet. * * * 
There was a great deal of lobbying in the Legislature and as 



iJbid., pp. 176, 180. 
2 /&«?.. p. 209. 

[274] 



s 



% 




Kii.ni «l:imiirn..tyiio l.y J. F. nnrrlson. Is55 

Webster Stanley, first settler at Oshkosh 



Settlement of Fox Valley 

a reault of it tho Capital wviit to Ma<lis<ui. * * * \Vc con- 
tended for a fceuiiKjrary location at Gri'en Bay or Milwaukee or 
any other place, until the coiintrv' should liave Ix'conie more 
settled. * * * Jlio members from tho west side of the 
Mississippi wcro bought to go for ^tadison. * * *' The 
to\m plat of Madison was divided into t\venty sharerf; 1 was 
offered one share for the small sum of two hundred dollars. 
* * * I rejected tlie offer %v'ith disgust, and felt better sat- 
isfied than I should to have .•%old myself for tlio twentieth part 
of Madison. * * * Wg used to have tall times in those 
days."^ 

Winnebago and Outagamie Counties, 1836-50 

From B^o^nl County Winnebago was formed in 1840, and 
Outagamiie in 1851. The most prominent of the early pioneers 
of these two counties were: 

Oshkosh. — ^^Vobster Stanley, Ohio, 1836; H. A., Amos, 
Chester, and Jolui P. Gallup, Ohio, l.S.'3G; George and Wm. ,W. 
Wright, Kew York, 1836; David and Thomas Evans, 1836; 
Chester and Milan Ford, 1837 ; Samaiel and Stephen Brooks, 
New York, 1839 ; Charles and Clark I>icken>?on, Xew York, 
1839; Edgar Conkliu, Xew York, 184-1; H. G. Freeman, Xew 
York, 1846. 

Appletan. — John Jolinson, Xew York, islo; Capt. Wel- 
comx3 Hyde, Yermont, 1843-50; Henry L. Blood (agent of 
Lawrence University), New Ham]>shire, 184!): (\)1. Tiie»Mlon' 
Conkey, Xew ^'ork, 1849. 

Menasha. — Curtis Reed, Xew York, 1848; James D. Doty, 
New York (on Doty's Island), 1845. 

NeenaJi. — Harrison Ro<^l. Xew York. 1843; Harvey Jones, 
New ^'ork, 1846. 

1. The Settlement of Oshkosh. Rolx'rt Grignon, nephew of 
Augustin, and Tiouis B. Porlier of Gre<^n Bay had a trading 
post in 1830 at Alg«>ma, now include<l in the city limits of 

ilbid.. p. 191. 

[275] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

Oshkosh. Peter Powell and liis son William lived in a hut on 
Lake Winnebago, near by, as early as 1827. William Powell 
and Robert Grignon cjondueted a tavern and ran a ferry across 
Fox River. After the Menominee treaty of 1831, the federal 
government began a school building for the Indians at W^inne- 
bago Rapids, one of the workmen being Webster Stanley. In 
1836 he left that work, built a hut at Ct>on's Point, on Fox 
River just above the present Oshkosh, and with a half-breed 
named Ivnaggs began a trading business on the mail route 
built in 1828 from Fort Winnebago to Fort Howard. In 
1836, when this part of the country passed to the federal gov- 
ermnent, among those settled here were Stanley, A. H., Amos, 
John P., and Chester Gallup, George and W. W. Wright, 
David and Thomas Evans, Chester Ford, and Joseph Jackson \ 
all of these staked off claims that were bid in at public sale in 
1838. 

This settlement was at first given the Indian name, Saukeer, 
In 1838, George Wright was appointed justice of the peace 
for all of BroA\m County west of Lake Winnebago. When a 
post-office was to be placed in the settlement in 1840, the name 
became a subject of controversy. The Gallups wished to call 
it ^'Athens," the Wrights "Osceola," the Evans brothers 
"Galeopolis," but Robert Grigiion and William Powell came 
to the meeting with a troop of Indians and half-breeds, and 
secured the adoption of '"Oishkosh," in honon of the local chief, 
as a bid for the Indian trade. It is reported that Oshkosh 
hovered in the vicinity of the settlement bearing his name un- 
til he died in 1856. 

John P. Gallupi was appointed first postmiaster, and Chester 
Ford the first mail carrier from Fond du Lac to Wrightstown. 
Business meetings and elections took place at Webster Stanley's 
house. The first regular county officers ^vere G-eorge F. 
Wright, W. W. Wright, W. C. Isbell, Samuel Brooks, Ira 
Aiken, C. Luce, Harrison Reed, and Charleys Dickenson. 
Samiuel Brooks built the first dwelling on the west side of Lake 

[276] 



^ 



f 







iJ:^' 






From .lMu'.,.Mr...,i,v,.c l.y J. F. Ilnrrlsoiv. 1855 



Oshkosh. a Menominee chief 



Settlement of Fox Valley 

Winiiohago, where in 184-7 was tlio first i)o.st-^>ffice <»f Vinlaiid 
towu^.hip. At his death in 1S87, he wad the uldest living [xwtr 
master iu Wisconsin. 

The lumber industry of this part of the valley began in 
1843, when llan-isou lleed, who had purchased a hirge tract 
of government property at Xeenali, bought from Daniel Whitr 
ney 30,000 feet of logs cut iu the Wolf River pineries. Five 
years later, there were two steam sa^v-mil^ Oshkosh. and 
the next year the tii-st flour mills were begu , while by ltt50 
there were 1,400 jKH^ple in the settlement. 

2. Settlement of Appleian. The founding of Lawrence Uni- 
versity Avas in reality the origin of the citj' of Appleton. 
Jolui Johnston from Xew York was its first white settler, hav- 
ing in 1843 a hotel on the site of the modem city. Eileazer 
Williams, who later claimed to be of French royal Ijirtli, while 
doing missionai"y work among the Oneida Indians as their 
agent had borrowed money from Amos G. I^awrence, a Boston 
philanthropist, and as security had given the land around the 
bluff at Grand Chute. This land (five hundi-ed acres) came 
into Lawi-ence's }X«session who in 1848 had it surveyed, 
platted, and named Appleton, in honor of a l:)equest from 
Samuel Appleton of Boston to the newly founded (1847) 
Lawrence University. The Green Bay mission district of the 
McthiKlist Episcopal church centered in this institution, of 
which Dr. Edward Cook from Boston was made president 
(1853). By 1850 there were five hundred people in Appleton. 

3. Settlement of Menash.a. In 1835 Curtis Reed oame to 
Milwaukee in stiigiMi-oach and wagon from Troy, X. Y., by 
way of Cleveland and Chicago. He boai*ded at ^Milwaukee 
with Solomon Juneau, clerkc<l in a store for a time, and finally 
entered the employ of the federal government. He wa.^ tlie 
first ]x>nnanont settlor of the present ^lenasha. \\1ien the site 
was offered for sale in 1835, Governor Duy bid in most of it, 
Mrs. Doty giving it the name of ^lenasha, and t^'u years later 
settled on Doty's Island. In 1847, a company was organized 

[277] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

to improve the local watier-power, by Governor and diaries 
Doty, Harrison and Curtis Reed, and Harvey Jone«. At tliat 
time there was a strife over the location of the government 
lock and canal. Curtis Eeed finally obtained the contract and 
built them on the Menasha side of the river, finishing the dam 
in 1849. By 1848, there were ten families on that side and 
the village was platted in 1849. By the close of 1850, there 
were two saw-mills, and a fnrnitni"e and woodenware factoiy 
at this placa 

4. Settlement of Neenah. Harrison Reed came in 1843 to 
the site of ISTeenah from Milwaukee, where in 1839 he had 
founded the Sentinel. He bought a large part of the land be- 
longing to the government, upon which had been established an 
Indian school. Families moved into the old houses there, and 
these, headed by Reed, became the founders of I*J^eenah; Har- 
vey Jones, who came from IvTew York in 1846, was also active 
in promoting the town. Reed out the first road between 
Neenah and Ofehkosh, and the first religious services were held 
at his house (1845). The village was platted in 1847. Jones 
started a canal to supply the Neenah mills (there were four by 
1848), but he died in 1849 before its completion. 

Brown County, 1836=50 

The improvement of the Fox River and the metamorphosis 
of Wisconsin from territory to state w^ere events closely related 
to one another. The early public meetings held by energetic 
citizens of Green Bay in 1829 and in 1833, to address con- 
gress on river improvement, have been mentioned. This move- 
mient had am organ in the second Green Bay newspaper — th& 
Wisconsin Democrat, published by H. O. and C. 0. Sholes. 
Promoters of this enterprise hoped to make Green Bay the com- 
mercial centre of the state. Governor Doty in 1843 fatliered 
the belligerent resolutions presented to congress by the Wis- 
consin legislature.^ Claiming that »the legal southern bound- 



iSee R. G. Thwaites, Story of Wisconsin (Boston, 1891), chap. vii. 

[ 278 ] 



Settlement of Fox Valley 

ar>' of Wisconsin IkkI Ik<ii tampered with in the formation of 
Illinois, thivats <»f secr^^ioii were made unless the government 
would agrw t<» the fallowing impnn'cmonts: 1. To build a 
railroad bet^xsen Lake Michigan and the Mississippi. 2. To 
make the Fox-AVisconsin rivers a national watei-way. 3. To 
oonnect tlio Fox and 'Rock rivers by a canal. 4. To construct 
harbors on the west shore of I^ke Michigan. Interest in 
agricultural development of the valley was for a time over- 
shadowed by the idea of a great waterway. In 1S40, ^[or- 
gan L. Martin, territorial delegate from Green Bay, intrrxluced 
into congress a bill for the improvement of the Fox and Wis- 
consin. The bill was approved by President Polk, and certain 
land grants to help pay for tlie work were to be given Wiscon- 
sin when she became a state. After much rivalry between 
oppyosite sides of the river as to the location of the government 
lock and canal — linally j.lneed, as has been said, on the Me- 
nasha side — work began in 1848. But under state control 
slow progress was made. Any state debt of over $100,000 
being unconstitutional, the money could only be raised by the 
sale of public land. But immigration was too scanty to eifect 
sufficient sales for this purjxvse. The promoters spent 
$400,000 and then stopped discouraged. 

In March, 1848, a constitution was ado])tet], and without 
conceding any of her demands Wisconsin became a state under 
act of congress approved May 29, 1848. There can be no 
doubt but statehood was hastened by tJiis Fox-Wisconsin im- 
provement enterprise, which directed attedition to the import- 
ance of this region, whose metropolis had by 1850 a ]M>p\ila- 
tion of 1,932. 

Characteristic facts and incidents, 1816-50 

The Indiaius and French traders wj-re, as we have said, dis- 
poeetl to offer no opposition to the advent of Americans, 
nevertheless there was some dissatisfaction. Coming to the 
wilderness, the Americans did not pro}x>se t<» aban<l<>ii their 
OAvn institutions. One of the first acts of Judge Dot\' was to 

[279] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

stop Indian marriages among the traders. "Their plea was 
that they were legally man-ied *■ * * that their marriage 
had been solemnized accfording to the customs of the Indians. 
The court took a different view of the legality of those mar- 
riages."^ In some instances, tlie traders received the dispensa- 
tions of justice from Amerioan hands with an ill grace. 
Childs says, "The first jury trial was held at Green Bay before 
Elobert Irwin. I was the plaintiff * * * and * * * 
I gained my suit. The defendant * * * was a French- 
man. He and his friends were outrageous in their denuncia- 
tion of the Yankee court and jury."" Traders kept liquor in 
the back of the store, which they sold quietly to the garrison 
and used in Indian trade. The children at the fort., and a few 
favored ones outside, were all who received schooling, while 
mission work slowly gained a foothold. An Episcopal mission 
was started at Green Blay in 1829 under the Rev, Richard F. 
Oadle, and a large school for children of whit© or mixed blood 
was also begiui by that church in the same year, which was 
continued for a decade.^ In 1830, the Kev. Samuel ]\Iazzu- 
chelli opened a Catholic mission school, which received govern- 
ment aid.^ In 1835, Father Van den Broek came to Green 
Bay^ followed by a colony of Dutch emigrants, who formed 
the nucleus of the large Dutch element of Outagamie County. 
Bishop Jackson Kemper was on the ground early (1834), 
actively directing Elpiscopalian missionary work in the Fox 
River valley.^ The first Congregational church of the valley 
was organized at Green Bay, January 9, 1830, witli twelve 
members; the Rev. Cutting Mjarsh was first pastor. 

It is evident that these were God-fearing conxmunities, al- 
though religion was a subordinate element in their life. 



iWis. Hist. Colls., iv, p. 167. 

2/&icZ., p. 166. 

3 Wis. Hist. Colls.. V, p. 450; xiv, pp. 450-515. 

4/fZ.. V, p. 155; xiv, pp. 155-161. 

zld., V, p. 394; xiv, pp. 394-449. 

[280] 






o 

c 

3 



D 
o 



s ^ 

m "J 

ET O 

(u C 

c/) 

-. <T> 

3 

O 

CO 

o 



3 

a 



2; 

3* 




Settlement of Fox Valley 

Fiphtinp; "Xature an<l Indinns niitdo men rough, but not im- 
moral; ]>lain sjx'ccli wjis necessary. Classic oratx>ry does not 
develop und»r such conditions as Childs describes in the first 
lejn^slatnre at .Madison (Xovember 20, 1838).' Loblmng was 
ooninion, and discnssion ran high. Abont 1830 party lines 
became distinctly dra\ni ; both Whigs and Democrats held con- 
ventions and formed party organizations. Karly Wisconsin 
politicians — notably perhaps, Governor Doty — were inclined 
to be hasty and trncnlent In a sndden prditical quarnd which 
arose ont of tlie attitnde of Doty toward the administration, 
dnring the legislatnre of 1843, James Vineyard of Grant 
Ooimty shot Charles 0. P. Amdt of Green Bay. Vineyard 
was acquitted, but tJie event left an impression of horror on 
the minds of all concerned.^ 

A dash of old-world romance is given the life of the valley 
by the stors- of Eleazer Williams, who, posing as the "lost 
dauphin" of France, attracted such attention as to be seriously 
interviewed by the Prince de Joinville in the fall of 1841. 

For many years life at Fort Howard comprised all that 
oould be calle<l social experience in this valley. Under some 
commandants, conditions tliere were very pleasant, much like 
the life at Mackinac portrayed in Miss Woolson's Anne. A 
number of distinguished i)eoj)l(' were stationed at the Wiscon- 
sin post. In 1817, Zachary Taylor succee<led Colonel Miller 
in command. Lieut. Jefferson Davis Avas at one time at Fort 
Howard, and Col. William S., son of Alexander Hamilton, in 
1825 drove cattle to Green Bay for the use of the ti*oo])s. Dur- 
ing the holidays of 1823, "The School for Scandal" was 
perfomuNl by mendK-rs of tJie gan-ison. l^ut the anienitios of 
civilization did ]i<»t, cxt^Mid niucli bciyoiid tiio fort; tlui militars' 
families, and a few of the American and French faanilics at 
the Bay, made up a little s<XMety whose plea-^urcs wore simple 



1 Id., iv, p. 191. 

2 See Dickens's mistaken impression, of this in his Ameriraii Notes, 
chap. xvil. 

19 [ 281 ] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

and few.^ T'ravel and communication were slow. There 
were a few sailing vessels on the lakes. In 1821 the first lake 
steamboat^ "Walk-in-the-Water," aiTived at Green Bay from 
Buffalo. In 1829 Eibenezer Ohilds ran the first Durham boat 
up the Fox and over the Fox-iWisconsin jwrtage for lead that 
he brought from Galena to Green Bay. People followed the 
Indian trails a-foot or on horseback ; or, where possible, made 
a canoe voyage. The winters were tedious and lonely. The 
first mail route was established in 1834 from Fort Howard to 
Chicago, and about once a month the long-looked-for carrier 
arrived with his little freight of letters and old news. In 1833 
the pioneer newspaper of the state, the Green Bay Intelligencer, 
was begun by Albert G. Ellis and John V. Suydam. In 1850, 
a telegraph line Avas mn from Milwaukee tc Green Bay. 

Sources and Motives of Settlement 

It will be noted from the lists of names already given, that 
iilmost without exception the American pioneer element in the 
valley came from the N^ew England states, New York, and 
Ohio. In its inception, Oshkosh was an Ohio town. Menasha 
aiid ISTeenah were founded by l^ew York men who had the 
Erie O'anal ''fever." These settlers came overland in wagons, 
or by the wretched lake boats that sailed from Buffalo to 
Cleveland, and from Detroit to Mackinac; on board of which, 
a y.'issenger might be asked to "get out and push." The social 
and economic causes of this Westward movement are compli- 
cated. An immediate and practical inducement was the open- 
ing up of public lands for settlement, added to which in 
Wisconsin was immunity from Indian savagery, practically 
secured by the termination of the Black Hawk War of 1832. 
This had also well advertised the new territory. From the pet- 
tiers who were early upon the scene, and bore the brunt oi 



iF\>r an interesting narrative of pioneer social life, etc., see Juli- 
ette A. M. Kinzie, Wau-Bun: the Early Day of the 'Northwest (Chicago: 
Caxton club reprint, edited by R. G. Thwaites, 1901). Mrs. Kinzie 
came to Green Bay on thie steamer 'Henry Clay" in 1830. 

r282 ] 



3* 

o 



0) 

sr 
o 

% 

5 

< a 

3 '^ 
^ cr 

- o 
-• < 

3 <T> 



<^ o 

en 5 



►1 



*3l 

"I 





'IT^I$ !¥ 




Settlement of Fox Valley 

pioneering, no publislied remiuisoenoee are more valuable than 
thoae of Childs, Baird, and Morgan L, ^Martin. In their plain 
words, we have an insight into the motives which led them- 
selves and many anotlier to migrate to tlie far West. Tliese 
explanations are tlierefore t^i^ical. Childs begins his narra- 
tive as follows: 

I was born In the town of Barre, Worcester County. Massachusetts, 
April 3rd, 1797. At the age of ten. I was left an orphan, and never 
inherited a cent from any person. I was turned loose upon the wide 
world without any one to advise or protect me. and had to struggle 
through poverty. I remained in my native State until 1816. I was 
then nineteen years of age. and was hard at work at fifty cents per day. 
when the Town Collector called on me for a minister tax. The 
amount was one dollar and seventy-five cents — I told the collector I 
had no money. "Pay or go to jail." was the reply. He insisted on the 
payment of the tax; I finally put him off until the next Monday. It 
began to be close times with me. I must pay. go to jail or run away. 
I determined on the latter course. When I crossed the State line, and 
got into New York. I felt greatly relieved. I was then in the land of 
freedom, and out of reach of oppression. i 

Colonel Childs began his Wis<^'on.sin care<^r with a little trad- 
ing store three miles above Fort Howard. He wtus engaged 
in several oonimercial and manufacturing enterprises, and on 
the whole may be taken as representative of the pioneer busi- 
ness man. Daniel Whitney, who came to Green Bay from 
New Hamp.shire a year later, was another notable of this ty]>e. 

Henry S. Baird, the father of the Wisconsin bar, was born 
in Ireland, but came with his father to Xew York in 1804. 
Before the Jige of fifteen, Baird had a meagre literary educa- 
tion; at eighteen, he entered a law office at Pittsburg,, and 
afterwards studied at Cleveland with Governor Word cf Ohio. 
In 1823 he was admitted to practice by Judge Doty, and came 
to Green Bay for the first term of court held there the follow- 
ing year. Baird was prominent in the early legal aifairs of 
the valley. A friend of the Indians, hr was commissioner for 
manv of their treaties. He al'^o had charge for manv voars of 



iWis. Hist. Colls., iv. p. 153. 

[283] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

the Astor pix)perty at Green Bay. With his wife he partici- 
pated in the social gaieties of the garrison at Fort Howard, 
and his home was widely known for its delightful hospitality. 
As perhaps the finest representative of the early professional 
mien of the valley, it is interesting to hear in his own w^ords his 
reason for coining West: 

Some persons may feel disposed to enquire, what could induce a 
professional man, at so early a day, and when the country was but a 
wilderness — to settle here and become a resident of the country? For 
my part — without pecuniary resources, and having no influential 
friends to whom I could look for advancement and aid — I determined, 
after having acquired some knowledge of my profession, to seek my 
fortune, and pave my own way in life. With this view, I visited Green 
Bay in 1824.i 

These two explanations represent many. Following the 
famous advice of the oracle of the ^^ew York Tribune, these 
men came West, one to escape cramping New Eingland nari'ow- 
ness, the other to make his fortune. 

Industrial Development, 1850 to the Present 

Life in the Fox River valley, as elsewhere in the Middle 
West, became complex by the transforming action of two 
factora — the development of industries, and foreign immigra- 
tion. Up to about 1840, the fur-trade had been the important 
occupation ; after that date it was supplanted by agriculture 
and manufactures. The coming of the foreigner was at once 
the result and cause of industrial dev^elopment ; but chiefly, 
this eletmenit came in to form] a laboring class for the industries 
developed by the capital and brains of the later American 
pioneers from the East 

After the admission of Wisconsin into the federal union 
(1848), botli foreign and Elastem American immigrants 
flocked into the valley, and soon it was pea-oeived that the 
leadership had changed hands. A new set of men were in con- 
trol. In this rear-guard of the pioneea"s, may be noticed some 



iWt«. Hist. Colls., iv, p. 219. 

[284] 



o 
3 



3 
O 



s* 
o 



00 




Settlement of Fox Valle 



y 



significant ohnniros. Tho simple Ciiiinnuiniil life of trading days 
had disii{>[>eart'<l. (Masses \wyv foniKxl. (>n the one hand, 
were the capitalist and the professional man; tho plain lalx)rer 
on tho other. Many of the later pioneers were men of consider- 
able oilnoation, and intnxlneod a diversity of employments. 
These later men may Im? called the pioneers of amoliorat<'d con- 
ditions. Mnch hard \\'ork had l^een done; peace and safety had 
been secured; the beginnings of civic life had Ijeen made. 

Soon after 1850, tlic valley cities were incorporated — Osh- 
kosh in lSr)8, Green Bay 1854, and Appletxjn 1857; while 
Xeenah ami Moiiaslui came later, in 1873 and 1874 respectively. 
The hunber indnstiy of which Daniel Whitney of Green Bay 
and ("apt Welcome Hyde of Appleton were noted valley 
pioneers, was now rapidly developed by a coterie of Eastern 
men, snch as Pbiletus Sawyer, coming to Oshkosh from Ver- 
mont in 1849 ; Carleton Foster and James Jones coming from 
Xew York in 1855; Richard T. Morgan, lx>rn in Wales, arriv- 
ing from New York in 1856; and. S. B. Paige coming from 
Xew Hampshire in 1850. Gabriel Bouck, of Dutch ancestry, 
who arrived in 1849, and George Gaiy in 1850, both New 
Yorkers, and Leander Choate from Maine in 1857, were three 
Oshkosh lawyers who became widely known. John H. M. 
Wigman, tiic well-known lawyer of Green Bay, settled in that 
place in 1848. Tho pioneer in new enterprises may 1j<^ typified 
by W. H. Ilogei-s from New York, who alx>iit 1849 started 
market gardening at A])plet-on. 

The early sclieme of making a great waterway of the valley 
came in this period to be considered a necessity. Tho original 
promoter, who, overcome by debt, had stopixMi Mork, woiv re?- 
lieved in 1853 by a charter granted to the ^"Fox and Wisconsin 
Improvement Company" — a group of capitalists who assumed 
the ixsixjiisibility of the undertaking. Sonue of the Fox River 
valley men among tlio dire<'t/)rs werc Morgan L. ^Lurtin, 
Joseph G. La\n-on, Etlgar (\>nklin, and Otto Tank, all of 
Green Bay, and (\>1. Tliexnlore (.\)nkey of Appleton.' In spit-e 

iWis. Hist. Colls., xi, p. 385. 

[285] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

of enormous liabilities the -waterway was opened, and in June, 
1S56. amid great rejoicino;. the **Aquila,''" a stem-wlieeler from 
Pittsburg, arrived at Green Bay.^ Business and immigration 
"were tempted hither by this success. In Xoveniber 1862, the 
Chicago k Xorth^westem Railway, destined to minimize the im- 
ponance of the whole -waterway improvement, was opened 
through the valley. The Green Bay and Mississippi Canal 
Company, foimded in 1S66, sold out to the govemmeni in 1572. 
About $1,000,000 were then spent by the United States in 
further improvement, but railroads now control the carrying 
trade of the valley." 

The War of Secession temporarily retarded trade and immi- 
gration, but the close of the contest saw the rise of industry on 
a greater scale, due chiefly to the increased local and foreign 
demand for lumber and to better shipping facilities by rail and 
water. For a time, fires of appalling magnitude interfered 
with progress. A series of holocausts oc«irred in Oshkosh 
from 1859 to 1875 : and in the extremely dry autumn of 1871 
(Octcrber 8), Brown and Outagamie counties were fire-swept, 
being again visited by the destructive element September 20, 
1880.^ The laboring class having come to cc«nscious existence 
during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, waged a duel 
with capital in the lumber business: howevo-, no very serious 
troubles have occurred.' 

Representative Later Pioneers 

Moigan L. Martin, by a long and active life united the 
earlier with the later pioneers, but his activity was more con- 
spicuous in connection with the latter group, so that notice of 



i Oshkosb Courier. June 11. 1S56: also Richarc J. Harney, History of 
Winnebago Co. (Oslikosh, 1880). p. 143. 

2 See article in Appleton Post. December 12, IS 77. 

^History of Xorthem Wisconsin (Chicago. 1S81), pp. 111-113, 124. 

-* On August 18, 1903. Thomas R. Morgan, of the Morgan lumber firm 
a: Oshkosh, was shot by a German employee. There was no reason 
for the act — Milwa-akee Free Press. August 19, 1903. Mr. Morgan came 
from Wales in 1S68, and was a re"atiTc of Richard T. Morgan. 

[286] 



■' [^■'^ 




w 



a 

3 
n 
n 



3 t 






o 

3 


i ' •; * (' 




J .iV-^ 


PO 


'•^ 


n 


J 'I ^&f 


n 


V A,1> 


CL 


w. 




. v^ 


3 


^ 


3* 






1% 



en 



OO 

en 
en 




Settlement of Fox Valley 

his work has l:>een reserved until uow. Miixtin was bom in 
Martinsburgh, X. Y., in 1805. In 1824 he was graduated 
from Hamilton College, and for two years studied law. At 
their expiration he went to Detroit, where he was admitted 
to the bar, and acting on tlie advice of his cousin, Judge Doty, 
he settled in Gi-een Bay in 1827 and lived there until his 
death. Martin at onoe became a leading figure in the political 
life of the little place. We have in his reminiscences an in- 
teresting account of a horseback trip witli Judge Doty, 
Heniy S. Baird, and others in 1829 through the country south 
of the Fox and Wisconsin, the very practical result of which 
was additions to the government map of that part of the terri- 
tovy. The framing and passage of the bill for the Fox River 
improvement (1846), was largely due to the efforts of Mr. 
Martin while territorial delegate to congress from Wisconsin. 
He was president of the constitutional convention of 1848, and 
fathered the improvement scheme of 1853. Martin was for 
many years active in the political life of the state. During 
the War of Secession he was an army paymaster, and served 
as Indian agent in 1866. In this latter year he was defeated 
for congress by Philetus Sa^vA'er. His political career ended 
as judge of Bro^^^l County where he sen-ed from 1875 until 
his death in 1887. Martin was a man of fine taste and pres- 
ence. His home, *'Hazelwood," remains as one of the best ex- 
amples in the valley of the classic Xew England style of ho\ise- 
building.^ 

Capt Joseph G. I>a^^'ton was a representative capitalist of 
the. later period. Bora in Xew York city (1822), on Broome 
Street in what was then a fine hoiL«?e, after a year at the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania he c<^>nducted business with his father 
and brother in various places in Pennsylvania until about 1849. 
Then, like many another young man of the period, he began 
to study law. Hearing what groat op|x>rtunities the West 



1 See the narrative and sketch of Morgan L. Martin, in Wis. Hist. 
Colls., xl. 

[ 287 ] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

afforded, he oame to Green Bay on a prospecting tour in 1851, 
starting business almost immediately, by entering into partner- 
ship in a factory with Otto Tank. In 1853 he organized the- 
Fox Rliver Bank, and in 18 5 G tlie Brown County Bank of 
De P'ere, IN'ext to Morgan L. M,artin, Lawi^on was the niiost 
active director of the Fox River Improvement C<>nipaiiy, and 
negotiated the sale of its lands. ^Vhen the War of Secession 
broke out, Lawtou gained his military title by raising a com- 
pany of volunteers, with which he saw active service, but the 
illness of his wife compelled him to resign in 1863. He there- 
upon established a stave factory, a smelting furnace, and a flax 
factors^ at Pe Pere, platted a large part of that city, and built 
a wiing dam and canal. The next year he built a bridge be- 
tween Elast and West De Pere, and a sash and door factoiy at 
the latter place. Oaptain Lawton's energy increased the local 
population during the years 1863-64 from 150 to 2,500.^ lie 
died in 1896. 

Senator Philetus Sawyer was a representative politician, 
lumbemian, and capitalist combined." Bora in Vermont in 
1816, the son of a small fanner and blacksmith, he early moved 
to the Adirondacks with his parents, and as a lad lived a hard 
and industrious life. B'y 1847 he had accumulated $2,000, 
and in 1849 came to O'slil^osh to place his little capital in the 
Wolf River pineries. He finally bought a saw-mill and made 
a financial success of what had been a failure under other 
hands. From 1857 to 1861, Sa,AV)^er was in the state legisla- 
ture, and from 1865 to 1875 in the lower house of congress, 
where he became widely knovkH by his comiinittee work on 
m.atters of Western expansion and improvement. The river 
and harbor bill of 1871, which ]>rovided about $7,000,000 for 
this purpose, was largely his work. In the United States sen- 
ate he serve<;l t^vo terms, 1881-93. Until 1880 he was vice- 
piresident of the Oiicago, St. Paul & Omaha Railway, and 



1 See Biog. Record of Fox River Valley (Chicago, 1895), p. 28. 
2lbi(J., p. 980. 

[288] 



•33 



Ui 



o 



CD 






'MM 



i\ 



ii'ii: 








Settlement of Fox Valley 

vice-president of tlio First National Bank of Oshkosh. Mr. 
Sawyer remained identified witli the lumber interests of Wis- 
consin, and died March 29, 1900. 

Foreign Immigration 

The foreign-bom }X)pulation of the valley soon after 1850 
became a prominent factor in its life. Aside from the French- 
Oanadian and English who came in individually all through 
the early part of the nineteenth century, there was tlie "canny 
Soot," with an eye to tlirift, like xVlexander Mitchell of Mil- 
waukee;^ the Irishman, wlio timuMl liis l)ack n]x>n Tri'^li politics 
and misery, like the father of Henry S. Baird ; the deserter 
from the British navy, like Col. Samuel Ryan of Appleton,^ 
and an occasional Eurojiean refugee. These men, however, 
merely heralded the gi'eat. movement of foreign population which 
took place about the middle of the centiu*y as a result of the 
democratic unrest pervading Euro]x>i and to some extent forc- 
ing the democratization of Euro]>ean governments. Before 
and after the War of Secession, settlers from our o\\ti Eastern 
states — especially from New York, Maine, Vermont, Pennsyl- 
vania, and Ohio — steadily moved in to form the basis of the 
present generation. But during the last quarter of the century, 
the foreign element took a prominent place in municipal affairs, 
and by the centurv's end tJie f>opulation of the valley had be- 
come an amalgamation of Eastern-iVmerican, native W^isoon- 
sin, and foreign-born elements.^ Tlie Eiiropean-bom citizens 
of the valley are mostly Germans (strongest in Outagamie and 
Winnlobago), Scandinavians, lEnglislu, Irish, and ,Dut/ch 
(strongest in Brown County), with a sprinkling of other 
nationalities. An interesting representative is John H. M. 

i\Vis. Hist. Colls., xi, p. 435. 

aElihti Si)encer. Pioneers of Outagamie County (Appleton. 1895), 
p. 182. 

3 See Men ^Vho Are Making Orrm Bay (Green Bay, 1897); Pioneers 
of Outagamie County; and county histories of Brown. Outagamie, and 
Winnebago in History of yorthern Wisconsin (Milwaukee. 1882). 

[289 ] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

Wigman of Green Bay, who was born at Amsterda-m in 1835. 
Coming of good family imiisnal attention was given to his edu- 
cation, and he became an excellent linguist. In 1848 he ac- 
companied his father to Little Chute together with Father Van 
den Broek, founder of the large Dutch colony in Brown County. 
For several years Mr. Wigman woa'ked near Green Bay, while 
engaged in the study of law. In 1864 he was admitted to the 
bar, and in 1868 opened an office in Green Bay in partnership 
with Mr. Iludd. Mr. Wigman's most celebrated case was con- 
nected with the question of the use of the Bible in public 
schools, his point of view being that of the Roman Catholics,^ 
The French element is strongest in Green Bay. In 1895 the 
percentage of American-bom population in Brown Cbunty was 
76, Winnebago 72, and Otitagamie 75. 

Sources, Character, and Influence of Pioneer Life 

In concluding this brief study what may be said of the 
sources, character, and influence of the pioneer life of the val- 
ley ? As to the first^ it has been indicated that the main 
source of American pioneer life along the Fox River, as well 
as in Wisconsin as a whole, was the state of New York. A 
noticeable percentage of men from that state were both lawyers 
and farmers in the valley. Statistics of the first constitutional 
convention ait Madison (1846) show that out of 114 members, 
42 were from ISTew York; of the second convention (1847), 25 
were from I^ew York." The old French and half-breed settle- 
ments constituted an earlier pioneer life, which blending witli 
the American was gradually lost to sight During the hey- 
day of the American pioneer and the organization of state life^ 
a few old survivors remained like ''knitters in the sun," bask- 
ing in the memories of other days.^ The latest date that can 



1 P. M. Reed, Bench and Bar of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, 1882), p. 389. 

2 Tenney and Atwood, Fathers of Wisconsin, pp. 20-22. 

3 See L. C. Draper's account of visiting Augustin Grignon in 1857, in 
Wis. Hist. Colls., iii, pp. 195, 196. 

[ 290 ] 



n 




mr^r^^. 



3- , '.^*5 - "«, 



in 

o \ 



(':■# 



•3r 



■-■•l ■ 
*'#^ 



te-r= 




.v^^rri j'J^'i ^'j 



Settlement of Fox Valley 

be assigned for the continuance of this element as an influence, 
is 1860. Augustin Grignon, the last of the old traders, died 
that year at Green Bay. The maximum date which can be 
assigned to the American pioneers who came before 1843, is 
1887, tlie death of Morgan L. Martin of Green Bay. The 
maximum date for tlie later pioneers of 1849 and the few years 
following, can scarcely as yet be assigned. One of the last of 
these, Gabriel Bouck, passed away February 21, 1904.' 

It has been shown that the French element was not consti- 
tuted by nature or by numbers to play a leading part in state 
life. The men from tlie Eastern states, however, came pre- 
pared to build a new commonwealth. Economic causes were 
a positive motive force in Western emigration ; but the name- 
less instinct that, ever since the dawn of Aryan histor^^ has im- 
pelled men to tlie West, led these men to a land of promise. 

The settlers of tlie Fox River valley were law-abiding, but 
not religious. Certain vagaries, however, flourished. There 
were Fourierism at Kipon' and Mormonism at Voree;' but of 
all the oddities of the time, the valley harbored none more 
picturesque than the belief in Eleazer Williams and his pre- 
tensions to the French throne. 

The valley pioneers had few characteristics not common to 
those of the state at large; but withal they were highly intelli- 
gent,* resolute, yet peaceable. 

The beginnings of real settlement and of organized life in 
Wisconsin must be credited to the earlier Fox River valley 
pioneers. For them, 

"Hack and Hew were the sons of God." 
and many commemorative eulogies have rewarded their toil. 
To such men as James Duane Doty, Morgan L. Martin, and 

1 Milwaukee Free Press. February 22, 1904. 

2 See H. E. ljeg\eT, Leading Events in Wisconsin History (Milwaukee, 

1898), chap. ix. 
sJbtff.. chap. x\. 
4 Especially in law, noted by Edmund Burke as characteristic of the 

>merican colonist. 

[291] 



Wisconsin Historical Society 

Henry S. Baird was due, in large part, tlie embryonic exist- 
ence of the state. They were the pioneers of law and order, 
and the modem state owes their memory a debt of gratitude. 
The work of the Fox Eiiver improvement companies and the 
lumber pioneers of Oshkosh attracted population to the valley 
and indirectly proved a benefit to the growth of the entire 
state. ISTevertheless the hope of making Green Bay the com- 
mercial metropolis of the commonwealth proved vain, because 
of the greater accessibility of Milwaukee, and the northward 
and westward movement of the lumber interests. 

At the present time, the ooimties of the valley contain an 
average percentage of Amierican-bom population. What pro- 
portion of this population is descended from tlie original 
pioneers has not been determined. While many of their de- 
scendants remain, others are scattered over the state, and the 
ideals of all are modified by new conditions. Yet inherited 
characteristics are more tenacious than appears, and old voices 
speak from silent things. Occasional dark eyes and straight 
hair, or a Gallic name, preserve the memory of the mixed 
rrenoh and Indian blood of trading days. But as a memorial 
of the real makers of the valley, the wide, shady street with 
fine old ISTew England houses in roomy dooryards, is still 
typical of the early American founders of Green Bay. 



[ 292 ] 



i 



/ 



